A system, method, and apparatus are disclosed for controllably dispensing a liquid beverage concentrate for use in dispensing a beverage. The beverage may contain liquid beverage concentrate in combination with a liquid dilution ingredient such as water and may also include one or more additional ingredients. This system, method, and apparatus provides more precise control of the quantity of beverage concentrate dispensed by operating a pump used to dispense the concentrate based on the number of pulses of concentrate dispensed. A calibration is made to determine the measure of concentrate in each pulse. This volume per pulse is recorded and stored in a controller to controllably dispense a precise volume for a specific type of concentrate based on a predetermined recipe retained in the controller for each drink, type, and volume of the finished beverage.
By way of background, a variety of liquid beverage concentrate dispensing systems have been developed. Such beverage dispensing systems may include a concentrate dispenser which dispenses a predetermined dose or volume of liquid coffee concentrate for combination with water. One way of dispensing a predetermined volume of liquid coffee concentrate is to operate a pump for a predetermined period of time. The specification of the pump determines the volume of substance dispensed per period of time. By operating the pump for a predetermined period of time an estimated volume of concentrate can be dispensed. Similarly, a pump or control valve on a water dispensing line coupled to the dispensing apparatus can dispense a predetermined volume of water over a given period of time. The combination of a predetermined volume of coffee concentrate and a predetermined volume of dilution water over a defined dispense time can be calibrated to dispense different beverage sizes. For example, a 12 ounce beverage will generally require twice as much water and beverage concentrate as a 6 ounce beverage.
While a time-based volume dispensing process has been useful, it would be more useful to improve the reliability and control of the volume of liquid concentrate dispensed. One of the issues that arise is with the dispensing of liquid concentrate is that the volume of concentrate dispensed may be relatively small. As a result, the pump is only operated for a very short period of time.
While a relatively short pump operating time can be manageable in some circumstances, the use of higher ratio liquid concentrate can exacerbate any tolerance issues associated with time-based concentrate dispensing. For example, as the ratio of the liquid concentrate increases the viscosity generally decreases. In other words, the liquid concentrate is thicker and likely more difficult to pump. The increased thickness of liquid concentrate can effect the operation of the pump and as a result a predetermined volume of liquid concentrate might not be dispensed within the period of time. Further, the high ratio liquid concentrate might not be as responsive when the pump is started. In other words, there might be a delay or lag in the flow of the higher viscosity liquid and as result the expected time-based predetermined volume might be less than expected or “shorted”.
The potential issues might result in some degree of unpredictability or inconsistency in the dispensing of liquid concentrate. These issues might be exacerbated if one or more additional flavor ingredients are used with the liquid coffee concentrate. As an example, if a beverage recipe calls for a combination of liquid coffee concentrate, water, and one or more other flavor ingredients such as chocolate, the ratio of the liquid coffee concentrate to the finished beverage might be relatively small. Decreasing the volume of liquid coffee concentrate used in the beverage recipe of a specialty beverage exacerbates the issues identified above. Depending on the beverage market, these issues are further complicated if a smaller serving size is desired. In this regard, while many markets may prefer a 12 ounce or 16 ounce beverage, markets or recipes which produce a smaller finished beverage volume, such as 6 ounces, requires even less liquid coffee concentrate.
Another potential issue associated with time-based liquid coffee concentrate dispensing is the issue of an initial static load on the dispensing pump. The initial static load requires some period of “ramp up” time. In the shorter dispense times noted above due either to the decreased finish beverage size or the decreased volume of liquid coffee concentrate used in the finished beverage, there is even less time for the ramp-up period. While some beverage dispensing systems have attempted to resolve this by adjusting the voltage to the pump, the relatively short dispense times provide little time for the adjustment. One attempt to overcome this problem has been to use a smaller internal diameter pump tubing. In this regard, the pump speed can be increased thereby pumping a volume of liquid coffee concentrate to the smaller internal diameter tubing within a given period of time. However, this has not been a complete solution. Generally, the pump speeds are relatively slow and may often result in unreliable pump starts were which results in equipment “faults”.
This background information provides some information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission is intended, nor should such admission be inferred or construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention. Other aims, objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the disclosure that are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner. Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.